Striking implements



Nov. 28, 1967 w. E. PORTZ 3,355,226

STRIKING IMPLEMENTS Filed May 11, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 H' SLOUGHATTORNEY INVENTOR.

Nov. 28, 1967 w. E. PORTZ STRIKING IMPLEMENTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May11, 1966 1 VENlgfR.

L/ /1- SZOUGH ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,355,226 STRIKINGIMPLEMENTS William E. Portz, Geneva, Ohio,.assignor to True TemperCorporation,'Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed May 11, 1966,Ser. No. 549,290 8 Claims. (Cl. 306-32) My invention relates to strikingimplements and relates more particularly to striking implements of thetype having a head of metallic material and a handle of nonmetallicmaterial, and relates more particularly to an improved connectionbetween the head and the handle, and the method of assembling the same,

While my invention is preferably 'ap'plied to h'and tools, such ashammers, etc., it will be evident, as disclosed in one modificationillustrated herein, that the same may be applied to a striking implementof the so-called golf club type, or like implement.

It is an object of the present invention to provide secure mounting of anon-metallic handle or shaft 'in a socket in a head such as a hammerhead or golf club head wherein the handle or shaft is firmly bonded 'tothe head of the tool or club respectively.

Another object of 'the present invention is to provide improved meansfor guiding a handle or shaft into secure engagement within a socket ofa'tool or club of the type referred to, said guide means alsofunctioning to direct adhesive or other bonding means into contact withcertain portions of the walls of the said socket and into contact withcertain portions of the end of the handle or shaft adjacent thereto.

A still further object of iny'invention is to provide improved means insaid handle or shaft for anchoring end portions of the said handle orshaft in the head of the tool or club, etc.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an improvedstriking tool of the type referred to generally herein which iseconomical in construction, easily assembled, and highly efficient anddurable in use.

Other and further objects of my invention and the invention itself willbecome more readily apparent from a review of the description and claimsappended hereto, in which description reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part thereof, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of the structure of myinvention as applied to a hammer;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on lines 44 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modification of myinvention as used in the hosel end of a golf club shaft;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of means used in the embodiments ofFIGURES 1 to 6, inclusive; and

FIGURE 8 is a view similar to FIGURE 1, adhesive or the like beingomitted from the showing for clarification.

Referring now to the drawings, in all of which like parts are designatedby like reference characters, a hand tool embodying the invention isdisclosed in FIGURES 1 to 5 which, in the form shown therein, is a clawhammer generally comprising a hammer head or striking element 10 and ahandle 11. The hammer head 10 has the usual poll and bell 12 and claws13 at opposite ends thereof and a medial portion 14 having a closed endhandlereceiving socket 15 formed therein. The said socket in the formdisclosed is provided with a generally V-shaped 3,355,226 Patented Nov.28, 1967 socket end wall 16, longitudinally extending side walls 17 ofany desired form, cylindrical, circular, tapered, etc. The said socket15 is adapted to receive an end portion 30 of the handle 11 and servesas a reservoir, as Well, for epoxy or other adhesive material. When thehandle 11 of the tool, preferably formed of non-metallic material, asfor example, fiber glass, plastic, wood, etc., is driven into thesocket, displacement of part of the epoxy disposed in the socket occurs,the same being forced into spacing provided between the side walls ofthe socket and the outer periphery of the socket received end portion ofthe handle. It will be observed that the said end portion of the handleis formed substantially complementary in shape to the socket. In theform shown the socket and socket received end of the handle aregenerally of cylindricalform and gradually tapered from the ingressportions 31 towards the tip end of the handle. To provide spacingbetween the handle and the head of the tool, the diameters of the socketinserted portions of the handle are slightly less than the diameters ofthe socket within which the said end portions of the handle are insertedwherefor a slight clearance exists therebetween, as will be evident fromthe drawings and appended description.

A spider 22 is adapted to be disposed over the end portion 30 of thehandle 11 of the tool. Said spider consists of a pair of wires 23, 24intersecting each other, as best shown in FIGURE 7, the intersectingportions 23', 24, being disposed preferably flatwise over a flattenedend face 31 of the handle or shaft. A pair of elongated depending legs25, 26, 25, 26' of the said spider wires 23, 24 respectively, aredisposed over opposite sides of the handle 11 and are adapted to liewithin longitudinal areas of the space provided between the handle andthe socket walls. The legs of said wires terminate in ends 27, 28, 27,28, respectively, which are adapted to extend outwardly of the eyeportion of the socket to be retained in secure seating engagementagainst portions of opposite sides of the handle by a ferrule 29,preferably formed of metal, plastic, or other desired material. Theferrule 29 is adapted to abut the lowermost annular peripheral surfaces35 surrounding the ingress end or eye of the socket 15 of the head 10 ofthe hammer.

The spider 22, it will be noted, is resilient and acts as a centeringdevice for the handle, its legs acting as dividers confining thedisplaced adhesive or epoxy within longitudinaliy extending bondingareas between the end portions 30 of the handle and the inner walls ofthe socket 15 when the end of the handle having the ferrule retainedspider thereon is inserted into the epoxy or other adhesive containingsocket of the head. The head of the implement is thus adhesively securedor bonded to the handle by a plurality of longitudinally extending bandsor strips 41- 41 and frictionally or mechanically secured thereto by thelongitudinally extending spring legs 25, 26, 25', 26 of the spiderinterposed therebetween.

I The handle 11, may as shown, further be provided with a plurality oftransverse grooves 40 adapted to carry adhesive, etc., for furtheranchoring or bonding of the head to the handle.

In assembling the handle, the head 10 which is provided with a closedend 14 is preferably seated on its uppermost flattened end with thesocket opening disposed upwardly; epoxy or other adhesive ofpre'determined amount is placed in the socket opening; the handle, suchas the fiber glass handle of the type shown, having a spider clampedthereon by means of the ferrule 25 is inserted into the epoxy, etc.,containing socket, the legs of the spider act as a centering means forthe handle and as guides for the adhesive, etc., which is displaced fromthe bottom of the socket and dispersed about the inner walls of thesocket and the thereby spaced longitudinally extending portions of thehandle.

In the form of my invention shown in FIGURE 6, the striking implement isa golf club; and in the form shown is provided with a metal head 100having a shank 101, the shank being provided with a hose 102 into whicha shaft of fiber glass or other preferred material is inserted.According to the invention, a ferrule or adapter 104 secures a spider105 over the end of the shaft similarly to the placement of the spiderover the end of the handle of the tool according to FIGURES 1 to 5, 7and 8, and said spider 105 serves as a centering device for the shaftand secures the shaft in the hosel as by adhesive, epoxy, etc., meanssimilarly to the structure described hereinbefore and disclosed in thesaid other figures of the drawings.

Although I have described my invention in connection with certainpreferred embodiments, I am aware that numerous and extensive departuresmay be made therein, such as, for example, in the shapes or dimensioningof the handle or shaft and shape or dimensioning of the socket, without,however, departing from the spirit of my invention and the scope of theappended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A striking implement comprising a striking head having a closed endsocket disposed therein, a handle or shaft having one end extending asubstantial distance into said socket, the said end of said handle orshaft having wire material having at least two legs disposed on oppositesides thereof and extending longitudinally of the said ends of saidhandle or shaft, centering said handle or shaft in said socket andfrictionally securing the handle or shaft to said head and adhesivematerial in said socket confined by said longitudinally extending wirematerial within longitudinally extending spaced areas between portionsof the handle or shaft and walls of said socket.

2. A striking implement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said wire materialcomprises a pair of wire strips intersecting each other and abutting anend of said handle, said wire elements terminating in elongated legsdisposed circumferentially about and longitudinally of the handleportion securing the handle or shaft within the socket in said strikinghead.

3. A striking implement as claimed in claim 2 wherein an annular ferrulesecures the ends of said legs in compressive engagement with the handleor shaft, said ferrule adapted to be in abutting engagement with theentrance end of the eye of the socket.

4. A striking implement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the striking headis secured to the handle or shaft by said adhesive material defining aplurality of adhesive longitudinally extending strips and mechanicallysecured thereto by said longitudinally extending wire materialinterspace-d between said strips.

5. A striking implement as claimed in claim 4, wherein the handle orshaft is provided with a plurality of transverse grooves underlying saidlongitudinally extending wire material, said adhesive material beingdisposed therein to further adhesively secure the head to the saidhandle or shaft.

6. The striking implement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the head is ahammer head.

7. The striking implement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the handle isof non-metallic material.

8. The striking implement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the head of theimplement is a golf club head.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,994,353 8/1961 Yearley l29.2

FOREIGN PATENTS 560,533 7/1958 Canada. 206,038 11/ 1925 Great Britain.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

R. V. PARKER, IR., Assistant Examiner.

1. A STRIKING IMPLEMENT COMPRISING A STRIKING HEAD HAVING A CLOSED ENDSOCKET DISPOSED THEREIN, A HANDLE OR SHAFT HAVING ONE END EXTENDING ASUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE INTO SAID SOCKET, THE SAID END OF SAID HANDLE ORSHAFT HAVING WIRE MATERIAL HAVING AT LEAST TWO LEGS DISPOSED ON OPPOSITESIDES THEREOF AND EXTENDINGG LONGITUDINALLY OF THE SAID ENDS OF SAIDHANDLE OR SHAFT, CENTERING SAID HANDLE OR SHAFT IN SAID SOCKET ANDFRICTIONALLY SECURING THE HANDLE OR SHAFT TO SAID HEAD AND ADHESIVEMATERIAL IN SAID SOCKET CONFINED BY SAID LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING WIREMATERIAL WITHIN LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SPACED AREAS BETWEEN PORTIONSOF THE HANDLE OR SHAFT AND WALLS OF SAID SOCKET.